Advertising or display device



Nov. 5, 1929. w. w. HAMEL ADVERTISING OR DISPLAY DEVICE 3 Sheets-SheetFiled 001;. 25. 1926 INVENTR Nov. 5, 1929. w. w. HAMEL ADVERTISING ORDISPLAY DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed Oct.

, INVENTOR ATTO EYS Nov. 5, 19429. w. w. HAMEL 1,734,575

ADVERTISING OR DISPLAY DEVICE nnhnubnun nnnlLunnfn INVENTOR wy/fam Vw./fme/ n 'MAQ ATTORNEY iii Il t) Patented Nov. 5,( 19.29 i

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEr WILLIAM W. HAMEL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,ASSIGNOR TO ADVERTISING SAMPLEB'S,

INC., OF WILMINGTON, DELAW'ARE, A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE ADVERTISING ORDISPLAY DEVICE This invention relates to advertising or display devicesand particularly to devices ot this character' adapted iter use invehicles, such as taxicahs; busses and so forth and also adapted for`changeable Window displays.

At the present time there are many thousand tazi'icahs, busses andsimilar public conveyances in this country and such vehicles oiiier anenormous field tor placing advertisingnmtter betere the public.

As is Well known, advertising cards are displayed in public conveyanees,such as busses and railway cars, but the number ofadvertisements thatcan he so displayed is limited hy the space available for that purpose.Furthermore, in vehicle, such as taiicahs, there is not suticientavailable space tor such advertising display cards. f

This invention has for its salient object to provide an advertisingr ordisplay ,device so constructed and arranged that advertisements can beintermittently displayed or displayed one at a time heitere ohservers orbefore the passengers in the vehicle. n

Another object of the invention is to provide an advertising device otthe character described having a strip of advertisements thereon and soconstructed and arranged that the strip will he ted step hy step orintermittently before t-he passenger or ohserver and will beautomatically reversed When .it has been entirely ted from one reel tothe other.

Another object ot the invention is to provide an advertising or displaydevice of the character specilied so constructed and arranged that thestrip and reel can he easily and quickly removed and replaced.

Another ohjiect of the invention is to provide simple and practicaldriving connections for a device ot the character specified soconstructed and arranged that the strip or web ivi ll he uniformly tedand Will he maintained taut regardless of the amount wound on either 1prolls.

Another object `of the invention isto provide a device of the characterspeciiied having driving connections so constructed that the directionot rotation ot' the drive shaft Will not af'i'ect the direction ofmovement of the advertising strip. y

Another object of the invention is to proa vide driving mechanism for adevice of the character specified so constructed and arranged that thedrive will he supplemented hy a booster device during the Workingportion ot the cycle of operation.

Another obje/t of the invention is to provide a device of the characterspecified so constructed and arranged that'it will Operate efficientlyand quickly, Will not get out of order and will require a minimumexpenditure ot power.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the followingspecification taken in connection with the drawings, which form a partof this application, and in which Fig. l is an elevational view inperspective, illustrating va device constructed in accordance with theinvention;

,Fig 2 is a sectional elevation taken substantially on line 2 2 of Fig.et;

3 isa sectional elevation taken substantially on line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. it is a sectional elevation taken suhstantially on line 4 4 of Fig.2, certain parts being omitted and broken away for the sake olEclearance;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional elevation taken substantially on line 55 of F ig. 2;

Fig. 6 is sectional elevation taken substaning the parts at a differentperiod in the cycle of operation thereof;

Fig. l1 is a sectional elevation talren substantially on line ll-ll ofFig. 4;

Fig. l2 is an elevational view showing the strip rolls and strip securedthereto; and

Fig. 13 is a detail sectional elevation through the central drivingdislr and shafts driven thereby taken substantially on line 13-13 ofFig. 9.

The invention briefly described consists of a machine for intermittentlydisplaying pictures, signs, advertising material or anv other desiredmatter. The device comprises a pair of strip rolls and means for guidingthe strip across the front of the machine whereby the matter displayedon the strip can be observed through an opening or window in the frontof the machine. lWhen the machine is operating one of the strip rollswill be driven to wind up the strip and the other strip roll will beidle so that the strip can be unwound therefrom. Means is provided forautomatically disconnecting the drive from one of the strip rolls andconnecting the drive to the other strip roll when the strip has beenunwound from the wind-0H or discharge roll. rEhe drive is so connectedto the strip rolls and is operated at such a speed that the strip willbe maintained taut regardless of the amount wound on the receiving ortake-up roll.

T he drive to the strip rolls is intermittent so that the strip will befed a predetermined distance to display one advertisement or picture ora single unitof matter and will then Yremain at rest for a'predeterminedperiod of time and thereafter will be again led to dis play anotheradvertising legend or picture. In the cycle of operation, therefore,there may be said to be a working strolre and an idle stroke and thedrive is so constructed that during the idle stroke, power is stored ina booster device to assist in winding the strip during the workingstrolre.

Various novel features are incorporated in the roll support and drivingmechanism, automatic shifting mechanism and in the general constructionof the device and these will be brought out in more detail in thefollowing specification.

Strip mii mounting @mi driving comieciiom therefor In the particularembodiment of the invention illustrated, the device is mounted in acabinet having a bottom 2O7 top 2l3 front wall 22. back wall consistingof hinged sections 23 and 24 and end walls 25 and 23. rThe baclr wallsection 23 is tixedly secured to the bottom and end walls and thesection 2d hinged to the fixed section 23 is secured by means of pins 23carried by the section 2l and engaging openings in the end walls 25 and26. The top wall 21 is hinged as shown at 29 to the bach wall section 24and a lock 30 secures the top 2l in closed position.

supporting plate or partition is mounted in the lower end of the cabinetand is rigidly connected in any suitable manner to he front, end andback walls. This partition has a cut-away portion or recess 36 along theback edge thereof to permit the passage of certain driving connectionshereinafter described.

A web or strip 37 is connected at its opposite ends to spools 38 and 39having flanges or dislrs 40 and 4l at the upper and lower ends thereof.rlhe web is led from the spool 3S around a drum 45 and thence across thefront of the cabinet in back of a window 46 and around a. drum 4:7 tothe spool 39.

rthe web or strip is provided along one edge thereof with a series ofalined perforations 5() adapted to receive peripheral lugs 5l mount edon the drums 45 and 47 adjacent the upper ends thereof.

The drums l5 and et? are mounted on spindles 52 which in turn aremounted at their lower ends as shown at 53 in the plate or partit-ion35. Each spindle 52 has a gear secured thereto and intermediate the gearon the bottom of the drum there is mounted a collar or washer 55. Eachgear has a pin secured thereto and Xtending upwardly therefrom and thebottom of each drnin has an aperture positioned to receive the pin 53.ln order to further support the spindles 52 and to insure the properspaced relation of the drums 4:5 and Li?, a reinforcing strip or frame60 is provided with openings 6l which receive the upper ends of thespindles 52.

Each of the gears 54 meshes with a secured to the upper end of a shaft69 winch extends upwardly through the partition 'l after described.

Each of the gears G3 also meshes with a gear 70 carried by a spindle 7lsupported on the partition 35.

Each of the spindles .71 has secured ther above the gear T0 a dislr 72on which is ada pted to rest the lower flange or en-d ll of the spoolcarried by the spindle 7l. Attention is called to the fact that thedriving connection to the spool is made through the frictionalengagement of the flange at the lower end of the spool with the disl;and, as will be later erplained7 one ofthe spools has its lower flangein driving engagement with the disl: coactin'g therewith when the otl erspool has its lower flange lifted out of engagement with its dislr. rhemanner of eitecting this elevation of one of the spools will behereinafter described.

rl`he friction drive between the spool anc dislr also forms a slipdriving connection an'L the driving mechanism for the shafts 69 is sodesigned that the gears 7() and dislrs 72 will be driven faster than thetake-up on the receivf Power operating mechanism The operating mechanism'for winding the spools is mounted below the partition 35. rlhe power isderived from a shaft which is connected by a flexible shaft S1 to anysuitable source of power. For instance, when the device or `machine isused in a motor bus or taXicab, the shaft l can be connected to bedriven by the transmission shaft or byione of the wheels of the vehicle.

The sha ft 80 has secured to one end thereof a worm 82 which meshes witha worm gear 63 carried by the rear wall section 23. A disk 811 issecured to the hub of the worm gear 83 and has projecting laterallyltherefrom a crank pin or stud S5. The stud 85 extends into an elongatedslot 66 formed in a lever S7 mounted on a fixed pivot 88 carried by theend wall 25. The opposite end 89 ofthe lever S7 is odset from the mainportion of the lever and is disposed between a guide 90 and the rearwall section A link 91 is pivoted 92 to the lever S7 and at its upperend .is pivoted at 93 to an arm which in turn is mounted on a pivot 95carried by a bracket 6 secured to the end wall 26.

A spring 97 is secured at one end 98 to the arm 94 and is secured at itsopposite enc 99 to the bracket 96. Thus as the arm 91 moves downwardly,the springI is tightened or ten sioned.

A. link 100 is pivoted on the pivotal connecti-on 93 between the link 91and arm 91 and has an offset lower end or hooi: 101 enga ging a rack 102pivoted at 103 to lugs depending from the partition or supporting plate55.

rlhe rack 102 has rack teeth 105 which mesh with teeth 106 of a gear107.

The shaft 69 at the rightin Fie'. 2 is connected by a bevel gearconnection 110, 111 to a shaft 112 and the shaft 69 at the left in Fig.2 is connected by abevel gear connection 120, 121 to a shaft 122.

The gear 107 is freely oscillatable on an axis alined with the axes ofthe shafts 112 and 122 and means is provided for operatively connectingthis gear 'during its movement in one direction by the pivoted rack 102to one of the shafts 112 or 122.

The gear 107 has secured to the opposite faces thereof a pair of disks125, 126. The disks 125 and 126 have pivoted thereon respectively pawls127, 128. It will be noted that these pawls have elongated tails whichoverbalance the opposite orftooth ends of the pawls. y

The shafts 112 and 122 have secured thereto respectively ratchcts 131,132 having teeth or depressed portions 133 and 134; adapted to beengage-d by the teeth 130 of the pawls as the disks 125 and 126 arerotated by the gear 107 in one direction.

It will be robvious that the gear 107, the disks 125 and 126 and thepawls 127 and 128 will be rotated alternately in opposite direc` tionsas the rack 102 is oscillated up and down about its pivot'103.

am'smf.

In the operation of the device, one of t-he strip rolls is winding upthe strip and the other strip roll is discharging or unwinding thestrip. For this reason, only one of the strip rolls should be driven atany one time and when the strip has been unwound from one of the rolls,the drive should reverse, causing the empty roll to wind up or take upthe strip and t-he full roll to discharge or wind olf the strip. This isaccomplished in the following manner.

The control mechanism is carried by an elongated plate slidably mountedon the partition and having a pin and slot connection 141, lll-2therewith. The plate 140 has fixedly secured thereto a pair of upwardlyextending lugs 143, 144 adapted to alternately engage the flanges 41 ofthe spools 38 and 39. When the plate 140 is shifted to the right asshown in Figs. 2, Ll, 5 and 6, the spool 3S will be lifted by the lug1113 out of frictional driving engagement with the disk 72.

The plate 110 also has secured thereto and extending laterally therefroma strip 145 which in turn has secured to the free end thereof an offset,downwardly extending curved portion 146. The portion 1416 is adapted toengage the tail 129 of one of the pawls 127 or 12Sand by engaging thetail, to prevent thetooth end 130 of the pawl from engaging the recessor tooth in the ratchet .131 (3i-'132. The function of the curvedportion M6 is clearly shown in Fig. 10. It will be obvious that when theplate 140 is positioned to dispose the curved portion 146 of the strip145 in position to preventone of the pawls from engaging and driving itscam or ratchet that the shaft connected to said cam or ratchet or onwhich the cam or ratchet is mounted, will not be driven.

The automatic shift for the plate 1410 is accomplished in the followingmanner. A member 150 is pivotally mounted at 151 in lugs 152 secured tothe central portion of the plate 140. The member 150 has a beveled upperend 153 and has a T-shaped lower end 154. Theopposite yends of theT-shaped head 154 are bent laterally as shown at 155.

l The position of the member 150 is controlled by a pair of feelers orlevers 160, 161 pivoted respectively at 162 and 163 to lugs 1611 and 165ycarried by the partition i l'he levers or feelers 160, 161 haverearwardly extending portions 166 and studs or pins 167 project upwardlyfrom the rear ends thereof. The curved extensions 166 as shownparticularly in Fig. project beneath the portions of the strip 87disposed between the spools 88, 39 and the drums 45, L17. A. spring 168is disposed beneath each oit the levers 160, 161 and tends to litt thelever about its pivot in a direction to cause the short end 169 thereotto be depressed.

rl`he levers are normally held in the position shown in Fig. 7 or, inother words, with the short ends 16S) elevated. f lhey are held in thisposition against tie pressure ot the springs 168 by the lower edge oithe strip 87. The stri?, however, has a portion ot its lower edge' acenteach end thereof cut away or recessee shown at 170 in Fig. 6. TJhen tl estrip is unwoui d sulllciently to permit one ot the levers or teelers,such as the lever or teelcr 160 in 6 to ent fr the recess, 'this 162 antlever will be tilt d short end 169 thereot e th bev led upper end ot themember on its pivot from p tion shown in F ig. 6 to t1 tion showntherein.

The shitting or the plate 1110 and the parts carried thereby isaccomplished by means oi a rod 178 pivoted to a bracket 174- carried bythe section 28 ot the rear wall ot the casing. The rod 178 is slidablymounted in a loop or keeper 17 pivotally mounted at 17 6 on the rack102. The free end 177 of the rod 178 is adapter to engage one edge orthe other of the beveled upper end 158 ot the member 150 when the member150 is tilted by one ot the teelers or levers 160 or 161 as shown inFig. 6. lt will be seen that the rod 178 will be. moved upwardly anddownwardly as the rack moves upwardly and downwardly and normally therod 173 performs no function. However, when the strip is substantiallyunwound from one ot the spools and the pivoted lever or keeper can enterthe recessed or cutaway portion 170 ot the lower edge ot the strip, thenthe lever will be raised by the spring` 168 controllingthe lev r, themember 150 will be tilted about its pivot as shown in Fig. 6 and uponthe next downward. movement ot the rod, the rod will engage the beveledupper end r153 or the member 150 and Jtorce the plate 140 and the partscarried thereby to the right or to the left as the case maybe. l

ll] hen the plate is shifted to the right or to the lett, one ot thelugs 14:8, 111e will move away from theflange 40 at the lower end ot oneof the spools and the other lug l move beneath the corresponding llangeot' the other spool and raise that spool out of engagement with itsdriving disk. At the saine time, the curved portion M6 ot the strip 145will move from the position in which it coacts with one o the pawls tohold this pawl out ot operative position, to the position in which itwill coact with the other pawl, permitting the rst pawl to move intooperative position and to drive the shaft controlled thereby. V

A lamp 180 is preferably mounted within the cabinet or casing behind thewindow 46 in order to illuminate the advertisements or other mattercarried by the strip 87.

Rsum of operation' Assuming that the shaft 81 is connected to a suitablesource of poi er, the shaft 80 will be rotated and through the wormdrive Connections will rotate the disk 84 causing the lever 87 tooscillate upwardly and downwardly about its pivot 88. 'Vhen trie levermoves downwardly, it will cause the arm 9/1- to also move downwardly,thus tighteninO the spring 97. Furthermore, as the lever 87 movesdownwardly, the rack 103 will also move downwardly about its pivot 108and will rotate the gear 107, disks 125 and 126 carried thereby andpawls 127, 128 carried by the disks. During this movement, the strip 37is held stationary, thus displaying one of the advertising signs orother matter. However, when the lever 87 moves upwardly, the rack 102will also move upwardly and one of the pawls 127 or 128 will be causedby its overweighted tail 129 to engage one ot the teeth or recesses 188or 1811-. oll one of the ratchets 131, 182. Since the gea-r 107 will berotated by the upward movement of the rack 102, the pawl which ispermitted to engage its ratchet tooth will cause the shaft controlledthereby to be rotated, The position ot the plate 1ll0 will deteiiinewhich of the shafts 112, 122 will be driven. For instance, in F ig. 2the curved portion 1416 ot the strip prevents the pawl 128 from engagingits ratchet 181 and the other pawl 127 is permitted to engage itsratchet or cam 182 and drive the shaft 122. Y

rlhe shaft 122 through the bevel gear connection 120, 121 will drive theleit hand shaft 69, thus rotating the gear 68 and this gear by reason otits meshing with gears 54 and 70 will cause these gears to rotate. rllherotation orF the gear 70 will also rotate the disk 72 connected theretoand since the spool mounted above the disk at the lett in Fig. 2 notraised out ol' engagement with the disk but engages the diss, the spoolwill also be rotated by its trictional engagement with the disk. 1t willbe evident from the gearing connections shown particularly in Fig. 5that the disk 72 will be driven faster than the drum 17 which is drivenby the gear 5l and since the friction drive between the disk 7 2 and thespool provides a slip drive connection, tension will always bemaintained on the strip.

11s above described, when one ot the spools is substantially unwound as,tor instance, the spool 88 in Fig. 6, the 'feeler or lever 160 can tilton its pivot, thus tilting the member Cil 150 and so positioning thismember that it will be engaged by the rod 173 upon the neXt downwardmovement of the rod. As the rod moves downwardly and engages the member150, this member and the plate 140 and other parts carried thereby willbe shifted to the left, permitting the spool 38 to drop into engagementwith its driving disk and raising the spool 39 out oit engagement withits disk. At the same time, the curved member 146 which is carried bythe plate 11i() will be shifted from its coactive position with one ofthe'pawls to a position in which it will coact with the other pawl tohold the pawl out ot operative position.

' It will be noted that during the operation of the machine, thedownward movement of the rack 102 accomplishes no driving function butmerely winds up or tightens the spring 97. The spring in turn assiststhe drive during the upward movement ot the rack which causes therotation of the spool. Furthermore, it should be noted that thedirection ot rotation of the drive shaft 80 will not affect thedirection of feeding ofthe strip from one spool to the other and this isparticularly advantageous since in case the drive shaft is connected tothe wheels of a motor bus or taxicab and is driven thereby, thereversing or backing of the machine will not reverse the direction otdrive of the strip.

Although one specitic embodiment oit' the invention has beenparticularly shown and described, it will be understood that theinvention is capable of modiiication and that changes in theconstruction and in the arrangement of the various cooperating parts maybe made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, asexpressed in the following claims.

What I claim is: f

1, A display device comprising a casing, a pair of spools mountedtherein, a strip secured to said spools, a separate driving diskassociated with each spool and adapted to irictionally drive said spool,and drive control mechanism for said spools having means engageable withsaid spools to hold one or the other of said spools out of frictionalengagement with its driving disk.

2. A display device comprising a casing, a pair of spools mountedtherein, a strip secured to said spools, ay separate driving diskassociated with each spool and adapted to trictionally drive said spool,drive control mechanism for said spools having means engageable withsaid spools to hold one or the other of said spools out of .trictionalengagement with its driving disk, and means for automatically shiftingsaid control mech* anism when the strip is unwound from one of saidspools.

3. A display device comprising a casing, a pair of spools mountedtherein, a strip seycured to said spools, a separate driving diskassociated with each spool and adapted to trictionally drive said spool,drive control mechanism for said spools having means engageable withsaid spools to hold one or the other ot said spools out of iirictionalengagement with its driving disk and means controlled by the strip forautomatically shifting said control mechanism when the strip is unwoundfrom one of said spools.

it. A display device comprising a casing, a pair of spools mountedtherein, a strip secured to said spools, a separate driving diskassociatedwith each spool and adapted to frictionally drive said spool,drive control mechanism for said spools having means engageable withsaid spools to hold one or the other oit said spools out of frictionalengagement with its driving disk, and driving mechanism forintermittently driving the disk disposed in driving engagement with itsf spool.

5. A display device comprisinga casing, a pair of spools mountedtherein, a strip secured to said spools, a separate driving diskassociated with each spool and adapted to frictionally drive said spool,drive control mechanism for said spools having means engageable withsaid spools to hold one or the other of said spools out of frictionalengagement with its driving disk, driving mechanism for intermittentlydriving the disk disposed in driving engagement with its spool, andmeans for automatically shifting said driving mechanism to drive theother disk when the spool associated with the inactive disk is empty,

6, A display device comprising a casing, a pair of spools mountedtherein, a strip secured to said spools, a drum associated with eachspool and having driving engagement with said strip, driving connectionsfor each drum, a disk for engaging and driving each spool, drivingconnections for said disks constructed and arranged to drive said disksfaster than the drums and means for shifting said spools into and out ofdriving engagement with said disks.

7. A display device comprising a casing, a. pair of spools, al stripsecured at its ends to ksaid spools, a drum associated with each spooland directly engaging said strip and two sets of driving connections,each set being adapted to drive one spool and its associated drum, meansoperative to drive either of said sets of driving connections, and meansfor automatically shifting said drive from one set of drivingconnections to the other set when the strip is substantially unwoundfrom the spool of one set, said shifting means including shift controleelers engaging the edge of the strip, the edge of the strip at each endthereof being so constructed and arranged as to cause the eelers toshift the drive.

8. A display device comprising a casing, a pair of spools, a stripsecured at its ends to said spools, a drum associated With each spooland directly engaging said strip and two sets ot driving connections,each set being adapted to drive one spool and its asso ciated drum, andmeans including selectively operatable paivls carried by a singledriving element operative to drive either of said sets of drivingconnections.

9. A display device comprising a casing, a pair orn spools, a stripsecured at its ends to said spools, a drum associated with each spooland directly engaging said strip and tivo sets of driving connections,each set being adapted to drive one spool and its associated drum, asingle rotatable member, means including a pair of selectivelyoperatable paivls carried by said rotatable member for driving the setsof driving` connections, and control means for holding one or the otherorp said aWls in inoperative position.

10. A display-device comprising a casing, a pair ot spools, a stripsecured atits ends to said spools, a. drum associated ivith each spooland directly engaging said strip and tWo sets of driving connections,each set being adapted to drive one spool and its associated drum, meansincluding` a pavvl for driving each set of driving connect-ions, controlmeans including a member engageable with said pawls, one at a time forholding one or the other ot said paWls in inoperative position, andmeans to automatically shift said control means from one pavvl to theother when the spool being unWound is substantially empty.

11. A display device comprising a casing, a pair of spools, a stripsecured at its ends to said spools, a. drum associated With each spooland directly engaging said strip and tivo sets ot driving connections,each set being adapted to drive one spool and its associated drum, andmeans, including an oscillatable rack, a pinion oscillatable thereby andpawls carried by said pinion, said paWls being operatable selectivelyfor driving either one of said sets of driving connections.

12. A display device comprising a casing, a pair of spools, a stripsecured at its ends to said spools, driving connections tor each of saidspools an intermittently rotatable gear and selectively operable pavvlscarried by the gear and operative during the rotation ot the gear in onedirection to drive one or the other of said sets ot driving connections.

13. A display device comprising a casino', a pair of spools mountedtherein, a strip secured to said spools, a driving dislr adapted tofrictionally drive each spool, a drum associated with each spool andengaging said strip, a driving connection for each drum, mechanismoperative to drive either spool driving disk and the drum associatedwith said spool and control mechanism for said drive mechanism operativeto hold one of said spools out of operative driving relation to its diskwhen the drive to said spool disk and to the drum associated With saidspool is disconnected.

11i. A lisplay device comprising a casing, a display strip mountedtherein, a spool secured to each end of said strip, a continuouslyoperating drive shaft, an oscillatable member driven by 'said shaft,driving connections for each of said spools, means including a singlepinion meshing With said oscillatable member for operatively connectingeither ot said driving connections to said oscillat-able member, saidpinion being alternately rotatable in opposite directions by saidoscillatable niemeer and cont-rol means tor said means constructed andarranged to render one ot said operative connecting means inoperativeWhile the other connecting means is operating.

15. A display device comprising a casing, a display strip mountedtherein, a spool secured to each end of said strip, a continuouslyoperating d e shaft, an osc'llatable rack member driven by said shaft,and means including a single )inion meshing with said rack and memberscarried by said pinion adapted to connect saidoscillatable member todrive either of said spools, said means being operative only during theoscillation ot said member in one direction.

1G. A display device comprising a cas ng, a display strip mountedtherein, a spool secured to each end ot said strip, continuouslyoperating drive shaft, an oscillatable racl' member driven by saidshaft, means including a single pinion meshing with said rack andmembers carried by said pinion adapted to connect said oscillatablemember to drive either oiE said spools, said means being operative onlyduring the oscillation of said member in one direction, and controlmeans adapted to maintain the drive betivc-en said member and one spoolinoperative While the drive to the other spool is operative.

17. A display device comprising a casing, a display strip mountedtherein, a spool cured to each end of said strip, a continuonsloperating drive shaft, two sets ot oper. driving connections, each setbeing opermive to feed said strip in one direction, means in.- cluding areciprocable member for operatively connecting one or the other of saidof driving connections to said drive shatt, and means including eelersengaging the edge oll the strip to automatically sl t said drive fromone set of driving connecions to the other when one spool is empty theedge ott the strip at each end thereof being` so constri f and arrangedas to cause the iieelers t the drive.

18. A display device comprising a c pair of spools, a strip sectned saidspools, driving connections for said spools, said connections includintively operatable shafts, oscillatable means operative during itsoscillations in one direction to dr'ive one or the other of said shaftsand sets of driving connections, and means operable by said oscillatablemeans during its non-operative movement to store up power for use inassisting to operate said oscillatable means during its operativemovement.

19. A display device comprising a casing, a pair of spools, a stripsecured at its ends to said spools, driving connections for each of saidspools, said connections including selectively operatable shafts,oscillatable means including a vertically oscillatable member operativeduring its oscillation in one direction to drive one or the other ofsaid shafts and sets of driving connections, and ineans operable by saidoscillatable member during its downward movement to store up power foraiding the upward movement of said member.

20. A display device comprising a casing, a pair of spools, a stripsecured at its ends to said spools, driving connections for each of saidspools, oscillatable means including a vertically oscillatable memberoperative during its oscillation in one direction to drive one or theother of said sets of driving connections, means operable by saidoscillatable member during its downward movement to store up power foraiding the upward movement of said member, said last named meansincluding a pivoted arm, a spring rconnected at one end to said arm andhaving its other end fixed, and a link connecting said arm and saidmember, said spring being so arranged that the downward movement of saidmember and arm will tighten the spring.

2l. A display device comprising a casing, a pair of spools, a stripsecured at its ends to said spools, driving connections for each of saidspools, said connections including a pair of selectively operatableshafts, means adapted to intermittently drive one or the other of saidshafts and sets of driving connections,

and means connected to said driving means for storing up power duringthe period of rest of said driving connections, said power beingavailable to assist the drive means during the driving portion of itsoperation.

.A display device comprising a casing, a display strip mounted thereinand having a recess at the edge thereof adjacent each end thereof, aspool secured to each end of the strip, a drive shaft, a set ofoperative drivingl connections adapted to connect said drive shaft todrive either spool, and meansincluding feelers having portions adaptedto enter the recesses in the edge of the strip for controlling said driing connections and the direction of drive of the strip.

23. A display device comprising a casing, a display strip mountedtherein and having a recess at the edge thereof adjacent each endthereof, a spool secured to each end of said strip, a continuouslyoperating drive shaft, two sets of operative driving connections, eachset being operative to feed said strip in one direction, means foroperatively connecting one or the other of said sets of drivingconnections to said drive shaft, and means controlled bythe strip toautomatically shift iid drive from one set of driving connections to theother when one spool is empty, said means including feelers havingportions adapted to enter rthe recesses in the edges of the strip forcontrolling said driving connections and the direction of drive of thestrip.

24. A. display -device comprising a casing, a pair of spools mountedtherein, a strip secured to said spools, means for feeding said stripfrom either spool to the other spool, a continuously operating driveshaft and operative connections between said shaft andr said feedingmeans adapted to impart a step by step feed to the strip, said operativeconnections including a pair of selectively operat` able pawls, pawlcontrol means for holding one or the other of said pawls inoperative,and means controlled by the record strip for shifting said pawl controlmeans.

25. A display device comprising a casing,

a. pair of spools mounted therein, a strip secured to said spools, meansfor feeding said strip from either spool to the other spool, acontinuously operating drive shaft and operative connections betweensaid shaft and said feeding means adapted to impart a step by f stepfeed to the strip, said operative connections including a pair ofselectively operatable pawls, pawl control means for holding one or theother of said pawls inoperative,

and means including feelers controlled by the record strip for shiftingsaid pawl control means.

26. A display device comprising a casing, a display strip mountedtherein and having a recess at the edge thereof adjacent each endthereof, a spool secured to each end of the strip, a drive shaft, a setof operative driving connections adapted to connect said drive shaft todrive either spool, and means including feelers having portions adaptedto enter the recesses in the edges of the strip and a. tiltable controlmember engageable by said feelers for controlling said drivingconnections and the direction of drive of the strip.

27. A display device comprising a casing, a display strip therein, aspool secured to each end of the strip, means for feeding the strip fromeither spool to the other spool, said means including a pair ofselectively operatable pawls, means for holding one or the other of saidpawls inoperative, and automatically operatable. means for shifting saidpawl hold` ingmeans from coactive relation with one pawl to coactiverelation with the other pawl when one spool is full.

28. A display device comprisinga casing, a display strip therein, aspool secured to each end of the strip, means for feeding the strip fromeither spool to the other spool, said means including a pair ofselect'velj,y operatahle pawls, single means for holding one or f theotherof said pawls inoperativee and automatically operatable means forshifting` said pawl holding` means from coactive relation with one pavvlto coactive relation With the other pawl when one spool is full.

29. A display device comprising a easing, a display strip therein7 aspool Secured to each end of the strip, means for feeding the strip fromeither spool to the other spool, said means including a pair or"selectively operatable pawls, means for holding one or the other of Saidpawls inoperative, and automatically operatable means including` feelerscontrolled by the strip for shifting said paWl holding means fromeoaetive relation with one pawl to ooaotive relation with the other paWlWhen one spool is full.

ln Witness whereof7 I have hereunto set my hand this 19th day ofGctober, 1926.

WILLIAM VJ. HAMEL.

